50 natural wonders: The ultimate list of scenic splendor

1. Pulpit Rock, Preikestolen, Norway

If there are any preachers here, they'll be telling you to get back.

2. Gran Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Pass the fries.

3. Ngorogoro Crater, Tanzania

More than enough room to swing a very big cat.
The Ngorogoro Crater is Africa’s Eden. Created when a huge volcano exploded 2-3 million years ago, the 300 square kilometer caldera now offers the best chances of seeing Africa’s wild animals.

4. Paria Canyon, Arizona, United States

Not all great waves can be surfed.
The Paria River in northern Arizona carved its own smaller version of the Grand Canyon. Some of the rock formations, including The Wave, are just as spectacular.

5. Volcanic eruptions at Stromboli, Italy

A fireworks show millions of years in the making.
Part of the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily, Stromboli is a small volcanic island with several hundred brave inhabitants.

6. Mud volcanoes of Gobustan, Azerbaijan

One of the few places you can bathe in a volcanic eruption.
Mud lovers trek to Gobustan's strangely Martian landscape, 65 kilometers south of Azerbaijan's capital Baku, where thick gray mud regularly spews from small volcanoes.

7. Jeita Grotto, Nahr al-Kalb Valley, Lebanon

Cavemen didn't have it so bad after all.
Eighteen kilometers northeast of Beirut, these underground limestone caves were inhabited in prehistoric times and continue to attract human visitors with their vivid colors and stalactite formations. The biggest stalactite in the world is here.

8. Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail, Wales

You can almost hear the male choirs in the distance.
Rated by Cheap Flights as one of the 10 best hiking trails in the world, this path twists 300 kilometers from St. Dogmaels to Amroth in southwest Wales.

9. Pangong Tso Lake, India-China

Beautiful to look at. But swimming here is only for masochists.
This saltwater lake deep in the Himalayas at an altitude of 4,350 meters lies astride a disputed border area between India and China-governed Tibet.

10. Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, Norway

Not a Norwegian motor car.
If you only have time to visit two fjords in your lifetime, make it the Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord in southwest Norway.

11. South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States

"Ooh Ah Point" awaits the adventurous.
Most visitors view the canyon from South Rim viewing stations. Considering that it has taken the Colorado River the past 17 million years to carve this wonder out of rock, it seems only fair to take a closer look.

12. Mount Roraima, Guyana/Brazil/Venezuela

1. Climb. 2. Catch breath. 3. Stand in awe.
South America's answer to Uluru, this impressive sandstone plateau is surrounded on all sides by 400-meter cliffs, creating an isolated and unique ecosystem.

13. Verdon Gorge, Provence, France

Up a creek without a paddle? Not so bad.
The gorgeous turquoise waters of the Verdon River flow through one of Europe's most beautiful gorges for 25 kilometers.

14. Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan Province, China

All the colors of nature in one park.
The three valleys that form this biosphere reserve contain a network of connected lakes, waterfalls and rivers -- the most spectacular of which are the Pearl Waterfalls.

15. Lake Nakuru, Kenya

And you thought your city was crowded.
A streak of blue (and pink) in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru is home to thousands of pink flamingoes that flock here to feed on the lake's algae.

16. Uluru/Ayers Rock, Australia

Better from afar.
Australia's favorite giant sandstone mass is 350 meters high and more than nine kilometers in circumference.

17. Siwa Oasis, Egypt

Yes, you can swim in the Sahara.
This isolated oasis has natural springs and fertile land, providing access to spectacular stretches of Sahara desert. It's a great spot for star gazing from your tent in the sand, but bring your bathing suit for a dip in its hot and cold natural pools.

18. Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Iceland

A waterfall you can stand beneath without getting wet.
Waterfall connoisseurs agree it's not size that counts. The biggest and the highest may be impressive, but when it comes to cascading water, Iceland's Seljalandsfoss has style.

19. Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia, Argentina

We got ice, who brought the drinks?
This 30-kilometer glacier in Patagonia's Los Glaciares National Park (not to be confused with the Perito Moreno National Park) grows and contracts, often forming a natural ice dam on the "elbow" of Lago Argentino.

20. Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

How many natural features can you fit into one picture?
Deep in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Moraine Lake -- together with its sister Lake Louise -- is one of the most photographed landscapes in Banff National Park.

21. Cascate del Mulino, Saturnia, Tuscany, Italy

Inspiration for Rome's baths?
Steaming hot spring water comes out of the ground at 37.5 C and cascades over a series of small waterfalls into dozens of pools on consecutive levels.

22. William Bay, Western Australia

Yes, these rocks do look a little like elephants. But only a little.
A five-hour drive south of Perth, William Bay in Denmark has turquoise waters that lap around white sands and the Elephant Rocks, which shelter an area of rock pools and granite terraces called Green's Pool.

23. Jeju Island Lava Tubes, South Korea

What Ireland and Korea have in common.
This volcanic island in Korea -- it's on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list -- has mountains, stunning coastal rock formations and the finest system of cave lava tubes in the world.

24. Angel Falls, Venezuela

Nature 1, Extreme Kayakers 0
The highest waterfall in the world, the water at Angel Falls travels 979 meters, which includes a free fall drop of 807 meters.

25. Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland

Perfect place for a yodel.
Deep in the Swiss Alps the Lauterbrunnen Valley, or Lauterbrunnental, is a deep cleft cut in the topography running between steep limestone precipices.

26. Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Eight kilometers of awesome.
South of the village of Doolin in County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher rise 213 meters above the Atlantic Ocean and stretch for eight kilometers.

27. Skaftafell National Park, Iceland

Just one of Skaftafells' impressive features.
Formed over millions of years by volcanic eruptions, rivers and glaciers, the Skaftafell National Park in southern Iceland has a variety of striking landscapes. These include an overhanging wall of geometric black basalt rocks on the Svartifoss waterfall, which inspired the architecture of Reykjavik's National Theatre, and the majestic Skaftafellsjökull glacier that seems to have frozen in mid-flow.

28. Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru

The lake of a thousand legends.
At an altitude of 3,811 meters above sea level, Lake Titicaca is one of the largest lakes in South America by volume.

29. Wadden Sea, Germany and the Netherlands

Not much to look at, but still spectacular.
UNESCO describes the Wadden Sea as “the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world.” In other words, it's a surreal hinterland along the coast of Germany and the Netherlands that combines wide-open stretches of sand and shallow seas.

30. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, Palawan, Philippines

After trains and caves, here's another way to get underground.
Nominated as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River runs for 8.2 kilometers underground and boasts limestone karst formations, stalactites and stalagmites.

31. Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Freshwater snorkeling at its best.
This series of shallow lakes in the heart of Croatia are a nature lover's paradise, with clear waters pooled in between rocky canyons and dramatic waterfalls gushing over cliff edges.

32. Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls, Zambia, Zimbabwe

More water than you'll bathe in, drink and flush in your lifetime.
The Zambeze River cascades over a cliff stretching more 1.7 kilometers, making this waterfall, known by its local name as Mosi-oa-Tunya (smoke that thunders), a stunning sight.

33. Finistère, France

One of Pointe du Raz's rare calm moods.
The remote headland in Brittany really does feel like the end of the world (its name is derived from the Latin finis terrae).

34. Fernando De Noronha, Brazil

Join turtles, dolphins and sharks for a look.
This archipelago of 21 tropical islands, 350 kilometers from mainland Brazil, is famed for its idyllic sandy beaches, marine life and hiking trails.

35. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia

Swimming with the fishes, in a good way.
Made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs, the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland extends for 2,600 kilometers and is the world's largest structure made of living organisms. It's even visible from space.

36. Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst, Hungary and Slovakia

Fairy tale-feel underground.
This vast karst landscape of limestone plateaus and more than 700 caves is home to the world's highest stalagmite.

37. Mount Bromo, Indonesia

Watch out for pickpockets and live-chicken throwers.
This smoking crater inside the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park sits in a sea of sand.

38. Freycinet National Park, Tasmania, Australia

Worst thing about Wineglass Bay -- the water sports that make you feel lazy.
Freycinet's white sand beach at Wineglass Bay, pink granite rock formations and Hazards peaks are among Tasmania's most stunning coastal scenery. The park is northeast of Hobart.

39. Iguazú National Park, Argentina

Great reward at the end of a rain forest trek.
The Iguazú River drops up to 82 meters over a 2.7 kilometer-wide ledge of the Paraná Plateau. The waterfalls are accessible from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

40. Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar

Not easy to navigate, but worth it.
Spiky limestone rock formations and mangrove forests are part of the tropical and otherworldly landscape of the Tsingy de Bemaraha nature reserve on the western side of Madagascar.

41. Cueva de los Cristales/Cave of Crystals, Mexico

With crystals, big is best.
In 2000, a group of miners tunneling in the Naica mine, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, found an underground cavern containing giant selenite crystals -- some as long as 11 meters.

42. The Bay of Fundy, Canada

Climbs and falls more than the NYSE.
One of four places on earth with extreme tidal highs and lows, the Bay of Fundy sees a vertical rise in sea level of as much as 17 meters twice a day.

43. Halong Bay, Vietnam

Turning every visitor into a photographer.
Thousands of small islands and standing stacks, or karsts, overgrown with green shrubbery, protrude from this peaceful bay.

44. Punkaharju Esker Nature Reserve, Finland

Land of toadstools and fairies.
This seven-kilometer esker, or sand ridge, was formed during the Ice Age and has been an important trade route in eastern Finland for millennia.

45. Frozen Sea in Luleå, Sweden

Signs in Sweden leave it to you to decide what they mean.
This isn't the only place in the world where the sea freezes over, but the town's location -- jutting out into the sea -- makes the frozen water a welcome extension of the town's streets in the depths of winter.

46. Trango Towers, Pakistan

When you leave a deposit for a chopper rescue you know it's serious climbing.
Some of the highest cliffs in the world are in northeastern Pakistan in the Karakoram mountain range.

47. Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand

A beautiful scene, but don't get too close.
Along with the 12-kilometer Franz Josef Glacier (a short distance up the coast), the 13-kilometer Fox Glacier on New Zealand's South Island is one of the most easily accessible ice masses in the world.

48. The Shilin Stone Forest, China

Sometimes women are even more beautiful when they're mad.

Spread over 350 square kilometers in Yunnan province, these stone needles look like an ancient petrified forest -- the rock formations stand tall and emerge vertically from the ground.

49. Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii, United States

The best of a spectacular bunch.
Whether sandy beaches, giant waves or volcanic craters, Hawaii has plenty of breathtaking landscapes. But the drama and scale of the Na Pali coast of Kauai, along the 17-kilometer Kalalau trail, may top them all.

50. Lake Baikal, Russia

A lake so big it has its own monster.
Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is not only the deepest and oldest lake in the world (more than 1,600 meters deep and more than 25 million years old), it holds almost 20 percent of the world's freshwater supply.